Clavier Magazine April, 07

Run, don?t walk, to buy A Touch of Brazil, piano music of Brazilian composer Edino Krieger performed by Russian-born pianist Alexandre Dossin. I had never before heard of Krieger, and it was my loss. He will be 80 next year, and his music is a marvelous synthesis of the modem and the old, quintessential Brazil with European influences. It comes from the time when the Jesuits brought Gregorian chant to the country and the Portuguese court, which arrived in 1808, tried to stamp out local musical styles, fortunately with little luck. There is polyphony and poly tonality, folk style and classical; the sounds are full of melody, color, and nuance.

Dossin discovered Krieger?s music almost 20 years ago and since then has steeped himself in it, promoting it in concert performances. After this CD came out, his reward was an enthusiastic letter from the composer himself, which in part says: ?You really penetrate into the depth of musical mean in and into the expressiveness of each phrase. . . You enhance the special characteristics of each work and the Brazilian qualities they present.?

The generous CD has just over an hour of music written from between 1954-1957 and 1997-2000; in spite of the 40-year gap there is an overall coherence to the pieces. The earliest work is as thoughtful and sophisticated as the later, some of it deceptively simple-sounding, some of it complex, although Krieger?s music is never dense or turgid. In Dossin?s hands, fine technique is a given. He draws listeners in from the first limpid notes of the opening Sonatina to a restless second movement; the sensuous waltz, ?Nina,? left me charmed. The two Sonatas are major works, full of technical challenges; the ?Preldio e Fuga? is a fascinating combination of Bachian style with unmistakable Brazilian rhythm.

Dossin brings out the many emotions that pervade the music - disconsolate or dreamy, energetic, jazzy, busy or contemplative, and all of it exciting to hear - without ever going overboard. The music is immediate, arresting, and also subtle. Dossin presents it as though he is a pane of glass through which admirers can see the composer. I highly recommend the C.D.

Philippa Kiraly